By Natalie McCutchen, Mike Stacy and Brad Clark Across the state, self-reflective teachers and supportive administrators are building communities of practice where all stakeholders are re-evaluating all aspects of instructional effectiveness. This is a time of rapid, meaningful change in our schools. As Kentucky educators embark on this intensive professional learning continuum, we must find new ways to guide student [...]
Ryan Mann By Ryan Mann ryan.mann@scott.kyschools.us With this year’s rollout of Kentucky’s new Teacher Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (TPGES), some of the biggest concerns I’ve heard from other teachers are over the “Peer Observation” section. Teachers have long been wary of administrators critiquing their classroom performance based on a brief observation, and adding a peer into the [...]
Lindsey Childers By Lindsey Childers lindsey.childers@trigg.kyschools.us Imagine a classroom that centers on discovery – a classroom that allows students to act as teachers and use the skills they have acquired to solve actual problems. This sort of classroom is possible and is, in fact, happening all over Kentucky. In my district, this classroom method is becoming a more [...]
Joseph Harris By Joseph Harris joseph.harris@lawrence.kyschools.us In the past few years, I’ve come to realize that peer observation is a powerful professional growth avenue for teachers, and it is one of the most beneficial aspects of the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES). While my official peer observation for PGES is scheduled for sometime next semester, I’ve actually [...]
Randy Barrette By Randy Barrette randy.barrette@menifee.kyschools.us Across the country each year, one week is set aside for International Education Week. This joint initiative of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Education (USED) is part of a larger effort to promote school programs that prepare K-12 students for the global environment, one that both departments hope [...]
Sarah Yost By Sarah Yost, NBCT Sarah.yost@jefferson.kyschools.us For two years, I’ve served my school in the hybrid role of teacher and lead teacher for English/language arts. I teach two hours of reading intervention every day and spend the rest of my time working on various leadership initiatives for the school. When my principal gave me the opportunity to [...]
Brad Clark By Brad Clark brad.clark@woodford.kyschools.us There are more than 42,000 teachers in the commonwealth. If 25 percent of Kentucky teachers were connected, engaged in the meaningful work of transforming education for the students and teachers within their sphere of influence, there would be more than 10,000 teachers engaged in the Teacher Leadership Movement in Kentucky. At the [...]
Joseph Harris By Joseph Harris Joseph.harris@lawrence.kyschools.us As most Kentucky teachers know, a student voice survey is administered once a year as part of the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES). Allowing students a voice in the classroom is empowering. Teachers who use student voice to inform instruction experience higher levels of student engagement because their students know they [...]
Lee Ann Atherton By Lee Ann Atherton leaann.atherton@mccracken.kyschools.us One Sunday night recently, I did something ridiculous for any self-respecting teacher. I went to a concert three hours away – on a school night. The concert got me thinking about our profession. I was somewhat of a groupie even before the artist became famous, traveling to see him at [...]
Sarah Yost By Sarah Yost, NBCT sarah.yost@jefferson.kyschools.us When A Nation at Risk was published in 1983, the American education system seemed to be shaken awake from the dreamy optimism of the 1970s to face the hard fact that public schools were not meeting all the needs of their students. Suddenly the era of open classrooms and holistic learning [...]